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TransAtlantic arrests target hackers

ELEANOR HALL: Police involved in a Transatlantic operation have arrested 21 people in the US, the UK and Europe for alleged cyber crime.

The hackers are alleged to have targeted high profile organisations including the CIA, PayPal and Sony.

An Internet security observer say the police operation is clearly meant to send a message to other hackers but that at least one set of charges appears flimsy.

Sarah Dingle has more.

SARAH DINGLE: After a number of embarrassingly public Internet hacks in recent months the FBI has arrested 16 people in the United States for alleged cyber crimes and executed 35 search warrants.

(Fox News sting plays)

LISA BRADY: Fox News Radio. I'm Lisa Brady.

Some high profile computer hackers taken down by the Feds.

REPORTER: The hacker group called Anonymous not so anonymous anymore following FBI raids and arrests in New York, New Jersey, Florida and California.

SARAH DINGLE: Anonymous is an Internet phenomenon whose loosely organised followers have as a symbol a Guy Fawkes mask.

They say they act and hack in the name of Internet freedom and access to information.

The US Department of Justice says 14 individuals were apprehended for joining an online call to arms by Anonymous to launch cyber attacks in defence of WikiLeaks.

STILGHERRIAN: These charges are clearly related to a series of denial of service attacks - things like attacks on PayPal, the payment transfer company, because they had cut off processing donations for WikiLeaks.

SARAH DINGLE: Stilgherrian is an Australian information security journalist.

He says it's hard to tell but he doesn't believe there are any formal links between WikiLeaks and Anonymous.

STILGHERRIAN: Anyone can just put up their hand and say, I'm doing things in the name of Anonymous.

What we do know publicly is that Anonymous has taken on WikiLeaks as one of their objects of support as it were.

SARAH DINGLE: At least one other individual was arrested for allegedly acting in connection with the online pranksters LulzSec, which stands for Laughing At Your Security.

Stilgherrian says the international scope and speed of the arrests is impressive.

STILGHERRIAN: Increasingly because LulzSec and Anonymous have been targeting such high profile sites, you know, we're dealing with the public reputation of very large corporations who have very good links with government and they can certainly sic the authorities on them very easily.

PATRICK GRAY: There was one guy who was arrested for leaking some internal commercially sensitive information from AT&T, leaking that onto the Internet which was later redistributed by LulzSec.

That's a far cry from actually being a member of that group.

SARAH DINGLE: Patrick Gray says many those arrested don't appear to be hugely skilled and authorities internationally are under pressure to appear as though they're bringing cyber attackers to account.

PATRICK GRAY: Groups like LulzSec and people who identify themselves as Anonymous are making them all look like idiots.

And it's not that they are idiots, it's that catching people who have one iota of technical skill is actually really, really difficult.

SARAH DINGLE: One suspect arrested, a boy in the UK, was 16 years old.

Stilgherrian again:

STILGHERRIAN: I think it's going to send a clear warning to people who style themselves hactivists that are really doing little beyond being vandals and criminal vandals at that.